Kukla's Korner Hockey

Perhaps like no other segment of society, sports lends itself to comparisons. Is this team as good as that? What about this player as opposed to that? Is he a better coach than that guy?
So it's almost logical -- although highly unfair -- that Sidney Crosby has drawn the almost inevitable comparisons to the NHL's greatest scorers, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. But after putting up the numbers Crosby did with Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, well there was really no chance that wasn't going to happen.
"He is a wonderful player," retired coach Scotty Bowman told reporters after watching Crosby practice during the Memorial Cup tournament. "I think he deserves everything people say about him."
In the hockey world, when Bowman talks, people listen, so Bowman's next comments added a layer of cement to Crosby's formidable reputation.